Music Conservatory of Westchester Hosts Mural Unveiling Party

White Plains Music School Invites Local Community to Reveal Student Designed Mural

(White Plains, NY) The Music Conservatory of Westchester invites the entire Westchester County community for a free outdoor Mural Unveiling Party on Sunday, September 30, 2018 from 1pm-4pm on the Conservatory’s campus at 216 Central Avenue in White Plains! The community music school is celebrating the unveiling of the full-scale painted mural designed by local Westchester County students in collaboration with professional mural artist Jonathan Villoch as part of the “Colors of Music” Student Mural Contest. This will be a family-friendly afternoon event with food trucks, live music, face-painting, outdoor activities, and more!

“We are very excited to unveil the finished mural, celebrate and share it with the entire community,” Executive Director Jean Newton said. “It is a thrill to bring art and music together for such a festive event.”

The mural will be unveiled to the community at 2pm with community leaders in attendance and the support of local sponsors Faust Harrison Pianos and Thomson’s Art Supply. Cuisine from a variety of local mobile food vendors as well as live music performed by Conservatory students and faculty, outdoor games and fun activities will entertain attendees of all ages throughout the party.

The “Colors of Music” Student Mural Contest, supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for artistic youth in Westchester County to create their vision of what the theme of “Multi-Cultural Music” means to them in a large-scale mural form. Numerous entries were submitted by middle and high school students around Westchester County with the hope that their artwork would be chosen as the basis for a mural to be painted on the Music Conservatory of Westchester’s building on Central Avenue in White Plains.

“This mural project will reflect the Conservatory’s wonderful musical community, the rich diversity of our greater Westchester community, and the vital role music plays in all our lives,” Newton added.

Over the summer, the winning students participated in a week-long collaborative mural art workshop led by Cuban American artist and New York City-based art educator Jonathan Villoch, to develop the final design based on the students’ artwork. Elements of artwork submissions by the contest finalists will also be incorporated into the mural design. In a tie, based on scores from all eight members of the adjudication panel, two students were chosen as winners of the contest.

Winning students:

Mya Madison Davis, 9th grader from Pelham Memorial High School

Ciara Sergi, 9th grader from White Plains High School

Finalist students:

Emma Farley of New Rochelle, 7th grader at Albert Leonard Middle School

Lucy Schwartzreich of Chappaqua, 11th grader at Horace Greely High School

An adjudication panel of art experts from Westchester County and New York City, as well as creative community leaders decided the winning mural artwork concepts:

Mya Madison Davis described her winning contest submission titled “Rainbow Rhapsody” as, “The bright colors represent diversity of people. The instruments I used are from all over the world… it shows everyone from all different cultural backgrounds coming together, united in one harmony, all with a common goal.”

Ciara Sergi described her worldly entry titled “Musical Pangea”: “I drew the characteristic instruments from each of the continents as a product of their traditional culture, and used their instruments to depict each continent.”

“I was happy to nurture the artwork that these students put so much effort into creating,” Jonathan Villoch said. “We will have to wait and see the final painted mural.”

Recently, the City of White Plains has embraced public art projects in the community representing the vibrant diversity of the city and Westchester County. White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach mentioned in a public statement that this community public art project will “not only beautify the city; it will also benefit an important community partner, which is the Conservatory.”

Join the Music Conservatory of Westchester from 1pm-4pm on Sunday, September 30th for an exciting mural unveiling and fun outdoor community party to celebrate how art and music bring people together like nothing else! In the event of inclement weather, the Mural Unveiling Party will have a rain date on Sunday, October 7th from 1pm-4pm at the Music Conservatory of Westchester.

For more information about this event and the Music Conservatory of Westchester, please contact Adriana Rivera, Communications and Development Assistant, at [email protected] or 914-761-3900 x135.

The Music Conservatory of Westchester was founded in 1929 by a group of community members and renowned artists. Today, the Conservatory provides the extraordinary benefits of music to all in our community, from absolute beginners to advanced artists, with one-on-one instruction, performing ensembles, theory, composition, early childhood classes, lifelong learning for adults, and free community performances, serving 2,900 students each year from 4 months to over 80 years old. As a not-for-profit organization, the Conservatory is dedicated to serving the community and reaching out to those who would not otherwise have access. Our Scholarship Program provides tuition assistance for financially deserving students. The Music Therapy Institute brings music into the lives of 1,900 children and adults with disabilities each year through on-site and outreach programs. Healing Our Heroes offers military veterans a specialized music therapy program to help with recovery after their service. The Conservatory has inspired generations of students, and contributed to a vibrant musical life in the county, the region, and beyond. www.musicconservatory.org